


Dinner with the Royal Dorks

by Pidgeapodge



Series: The Royal Dorks [5]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cute, Cute Kids, Family, Fire Family, Fire Nation Royal Family, Fluff, Gen, Nervousness, The royals are people too, learning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27263713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pidgeapodge/pseuds/Pidgeapodge
Summary: Nine-year-old Zunying is invited to dinner by her best friend, Princess Izumi. Zunying is very surprised to see the rest of the royal family there as well.Or, a very timid girl learns that the royal family is more normal than she expects.
Relationships: Izumi & Mai (Avatar), Izumi & Original Character(s), Izumi & Zuko & Original Character(s), Izumi & Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: The Royal Dorks [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012743
Comments: 23
Kudos: 135





	Dinner with the Royal Dorks

Nine-year-old Zunying could hardly believe it. If you had told her the year before that her best friend would be the Fire Princess, she would have called you crazy.

But then she and Izumi were roommates on Kyoshi Island during their time in the Kyoshi-Caldera Friendship Exchange, and the Princess was determined to make friends. 

As it turned out, Princess Izumi didn’t have many friends at school. Many of the girls around her were just trying to curry favor. Izumi and Zunying actually went to the same school, but never crossed paths because Zunying shrank from any and all attention.

A few months on Kyoshi Island helped the situation. Izumi finally had some friends, and Zunying was a little less timid than before. Only a little, though. 

She did manage to stop seeing the Princess as a Princess and start seeing her as Izumi. And Zunying had to admit, it was nice to have some friends. 

Izumi and Zunying’s class had recently been assigned to do group projects. Izumi and Zunying paired up, and together set to work on their project. They were in the palace library doing research when Izumi looked out the window. 

“Wow, it's almost sundown,” she said.

Zunying looked up and saw the bright orange glow in the sky. 

“Oh no… I’m gonna be really late for dinner!” Zunying said.

Izumi looked at Zunying. “You could have dinner with us, you know.”

Dinner?

With the Princess?

At the Royal Palace?

Zunying could hardly believe it. She briefly forgot her progress with being informal and bowed to Izumi. Old habits die hard.

“It would be my honor, Princess!”

Izumi laughed. “Zunying, you don’t have to bow to me. We’re friends!”

Zunying looked up sheepishly. “Sorry…”

“Come on, let’s go wash up and head to the dining room. I’m sure dinner will be ready soon.”

The two of them left their books on the table and went to wash up. While they were in the bathroom, a servant knocked on the door. 

“Dinner to be served in ten minutes, Your Highness.”

“Thank you!” Izumi called out. Zunying would never get over her surprise at how polite Izumi was. She knew it wasn’t common practice to thank servants.

The two of them made their way to the dining room. Instead of the grand banquet hall reserved for feasts, Izumi led Zunying to a smaller, more intimate dining room. 

Izumi pushed open the door and walked inside. “I told Zunying she could stay over for dinner. Is that okay, Dad?”

“Of course! We’d be happy to have her,” came the voice of the Fire Lord. 

Zunying froze. She expected to have dinner with Izumi. She didn’t realize she’d be dining with the entire Royal Family!

At the head of the table sat Fire Lord Zuko, tall and imposing. His long black hair was gathered into a topknot that held the golden Five-Pronged Flame, marking his status as the Fire Lord. His scar, though long healed, stood out harshly from his otherwise immaculate skin. To his right sat Fire Lady Mai, also tall and imposing. Everything about her screamed “graceful,” from the way she sat to the way her robes flowed from her long limbs. Her jawline was as sharp as the knives she was known to handle.

To the Fire Lord’s left sat Princess Azula. Zunying felt her knees go weak. She knew the history lessons. She knew the general gist of what Azula had done during the war. How she was a ruthless and fearsome conqueror. How she had almost killed the Avatar. How she had lost the throne to Zuko in an Agni Kai. How she escaped from the asylum she was kept in and terrorized the Fire Nation Capital as the Kemurikage. How she eventually reformed and became an advisor to the Fire Lord. 

Azula’s gaze was trained on Zunying, and Zunying felt it burning through her. Even though Izumi had mentioned her “Aunt Azula” a few times, the aunt in question seemed so… abstract. At that moment, however, she was very, very real. 

To Azula’s left sat the Fire Lord’s mother, and her husband. Next to them sat the Fire Lord’s 21-year-old half-sister, Kiyi, smiling sweetly at Zunying.

Even though Zunying was friends with Izumi, she had only met Izumi’s parents once, after their stay at Kyoshi Island. The interaction had been brief, and it had been nerve-wracking for Zunying.

Now, she was going to _sit at their table_ and _dine_ with them?

Zunying’s knees wobbled as she froze in the entryway. 

Izumi looked back at Zunying. “Zunying, come on in.”

_“Okay,”_ squeaked Zunying. She shuffled in behind Izumi, trying to shrink behind the Princess.

The Fire Lord’s brow furrowed. “Zunying? Are you okay?”

_“Eep!”_ said Zunying. The Fire Lord knew her name?!

Izumi turned around. “Seriously, Zunying, you don’t have to be so scared. It’s just my parents.”

Zunying looked from Izumi to the Fire Lord, then back to Izumi. She leaned over and whispered into Izumi’s ear.

“But he’s the _Fire Lord!_ ”

Izumi laughed. “He’s also the biggest dork you’ve ever met!”

Zunying inhaled. She looked at the Fire Lord. Wouldn’t Izumi get in trouble for insulting her father?

The Fire Lord put on a look of mock indignation. “Hey!” 

Fire Lady Mai turned to him. “She’s not wrong, dear.”

The Fire Lord pouted and crossed his arms. Once again, Zunying could not believe what she was seeing. The leader of her country, pouting just like a little kid!

“Oh, get over it Zuzu,” said a sharp voice. Zunying turned her gaze to see Princess Azula glaring at the Fire Lord. “You are a dork.”

“I am the Fire Lord.”

“Yeah, Fire Lord Dork,” said Mai with the slightest smile. 

Zunying watched the conversation move from one person to the next, like a riveting game of Kuai Ball. She heard barely suppressed giggling from near Azula.

“Mom!” whined the Fire Lord.

“I’m sorry, Zuko, but you have to admit… you can be a little… _enthusiastic_ … about your hobbies!” 

Zunying felt a push on her arm and realized Izumi was guiding her to a chair. “Come on, Zunying, you can sit there!” 

Izumi sat Zunying down directly to Fire Lady Mai’s right, then sat down herself of Zunying’s right. Zunying’s breath hitched. She was next to the _Fire Lady_!

The Fire Lord continued to keep his arms crossed and muttered something about honor and respect. 

Very shortly after, servants came in and placed the food on the table. It smelled heavenly. Roast Turtleduck, Extra-Spicy Fire Noodles, dumplings, all enough to make Zunying’s mouth water. 

The Fire Lord thanked the servants and turned to his family. “Dig in, everyone!” he said.

Zunying watched as the royals took food from the central plates and put it on their own with their chopsticks. She noticed that the Fire Lord took a healthy helping of noodles, while the Fire Lady seemed to prefer dumplings. Izumi took after her father, helping herself to a plate full of spicy noodles. 

“Remember to eat your vegetables, Izumi.”

“Moooom!” whined Izumi.

“You’re mother’s right, you know,” said the Fire Lord. “It’ll help you grow. Look at Uncle Aang. He only eats vegetables, and he’s even taller than me!”

Zunying’s eyes widened. Izumi called the _Avatar_ “Uncle”?

“Is that why Auntie Azula is so short?”

Zunying’s breath hitched once again. Izumi just insulted _Azula_.

Azula paused with her chopsticks partway to her mouth, glaring daggers at Izumi. “Watch your mouth.”

Izumi simply grinned mischievously. Her grin turned into a frown as she noticed Zunying’s plate was empty. 

“Zunying, aren’t you going to eat anything?”

Not just Izumi, but suddenly the whole family was looking at Zunying with concern (except Azula, who simply cocked a single eyebrow as if confused). 

“Oh, I… I just… It’s respectful…” Zunying stuttered. 

The Fire Lord waved his hand. “Nonsense. You’re our guest. Please, eat as much as you like!”

Zunying nodded and quietly began to scoop some noodles onto her plate. She took a small bite as the royals resumed eating. It was hard to have much of an appetite when she was surrounded by the most powerful people in the nation.

“So how is your project going?” asked the Fire Lord. 

Zunying jumped in her seat. 

“It’s going alright,” Izumi answered. “Some of the books are kind of hard to understand, but the librarian is really nice and answers all of our questions.”

Zuko smiled. “Ah yes, Madame Shu. She’s always been very kind. She started as the librarian here under your great-grandfather, you know!”

Zunying’s eyes widened as she did the math. The librarian had been working since the time of Azulon? She must have seen so much change go by…

“Wow! So that means she’s…” Izumi looked up as she counted in her head, before giving up. “…really old! How old is she?”

“It’s not polite to ask a lady her age,” said Fire Lady Mai. 

The Fire Lord’s mother let out a wistful sigh. “Madame Shu was always kind. I remember she was one of my favorite palace workers. I’m so glad she’s still here.”

The Fire Lord nodded. “And she’s so knowledgeable too. It seems like no matter what you ask her, she always has an answer.”

“I think I would have died trying to write my term paper last year if it weren’t for her,” said Kiyi. “She knew exactly where the books I needed would be, and how to find the most relevant things for my paper. She even helped me with citing them all!”

Zunying relaxed into her chair a little. This all felt so… normal. 

“If it weren’t for Madame Shu, I probably would have caused so many international incidents!” said the Fire Lord. “She somehow managed to coach me on the relevant cultural practices for all the places I needed to go to avoid any social faux pas.”

“Spirits forbid we leave you to your own devices,” drawled Azula.

The Fire Lord glared at his sister. “Nobody is an island, Azula.”

Azula rolled her eyes and took another bite of her food. 

The Fire Lord turned to Zunying. “How are you liking your classes, Zunying?”

Zunying dropped her chopsticks. “M-m-me?”

The Fire Lord looked at her with soft eyes. “Yes. Is everything going okay?”

Zunying started shaking.

“Zunying, are you alright?”

Izumi put an arm around Zunying to steady her. “She’s nervous, dad.”

The Fire Lord looked confused. “What’s the matter?”

Izumi looked at Zunying and then back to her father. “She’s not used to being around royals.”

“I thought you two were friends,” said Zuko’s mother. 

“It took a while for her to see past the title. She was scared of me at first.”

Tears slipped out of Zunying’s eyes, and she felt her face heating up. She just embarrassed herself in front of the royal family! No doubt they would think she was stupid and Izumi wouldn’t want to be her friend anymore!

“Oh, oh dear. Zunying…” said Fire Lady Mai as she made her way around Izumi to crouch down near Zunying. “What’s wrong?”

Zunying couldn’t speak. It took all she had not to start openly sobbing, even as tears continued to slip down her face.

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” said the Fire Lady, taking Zunying’s hand and guiding her away from the table. “Izumi, could you come with us?”

Izumi dabbed her mouth with a napkin and followed after her mother and friend. 

The Fire Lady led them out of the dining room, through the halls, and towards a spacious bedroom. She sat Zunying down on the bed, before going to get something.

Zunying still struggled to hold back her tears. It was almost painful. Izumi wrapped her arms around Zunying and pulled her into a hug. 

“What’s wrong, Zunying?” Izumi asked. Her voice was filled with so much concern that the dam broke and Zunying began sobbing into her friend’s shoulder, clutching her tightly. 

The girls broke their hug just as the Fire Lady came back with some handkerchiefs and a glass of water. She pulled up a chair near the bed and gently guided Zunying’s face towards her. She began to pat the tears away.

“Here, Zunying, drink this. You’ll feel better.” Mai handed the water to Zunying who gulped it down. That simple act created a break in her crying, so when she finished drinking she was more stable. 

“You don’t have to be afraid of us,” said Mai. “We’re just people, too.” She smiled softly. 

Zunying sniffed and hiccupped. She looked down away from the Fire Lady.

Izumi placed a hand on Zunying’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Zunying. My mom is really nice.”

Mai took the handkerchief and dabbed more tears from Zunying’s face. “What’s wrong, Zunying? Why do you feel so scared?”

Zunying shook her head. “I-I-I…” she stuttered.

“It’s okay. Take a deep breath. You’re safe,” said Mai. 

Zunying took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Her shaking settled down. 

“I-it’s just… y-you… y-you’re royal… and you h-have so m-much power…”

Mai looked Zunying in the eye. “Be that as it may, we’re still normal people. And my husband is trying to help others see that. He doesn’t want anyone in the Fire Nation to feel afraid ever again.” 

Next to Zunying, Izumi nodded. 

“Zunying, how did you become friends with Izumi?”

Zunying was startled at the sudden change of topic. “Um… while we were on Kyoshi Island…”

“I know _when_ you became friends, but _how_? How did you decide to become friends with Izumi?”

Zunying thought. “W-well… she was always s-so nice to me… a-and she tried to help me n-not be so s-scared…”

“So, you got to know her and you became friends?” Mai asked. 

Zunying nodded. 

“Then it seems you just need to get to know us a little better.” Mai smiled and bowed in her seat towards Zunying. “Hello, Zunying. My name is Mai. I’m excited to get to know my daughter’s best friend.”

Zunying stared at the Fire Lady, then turned to Izumi. Izumi smiled and shrugged. 

“Say hello back,” said Izumi.

Zunying turned to Mai and bowed back. “H-hello, Fire Lady—”

“None of that, dear. Just call me Mai, please.”

Zunying glanced up at her, then lowered her head again. “H-hello, Mai. M-my name is Zunying.” She glanced up at the Fire Lady again, seeing her smiling.

“Nice to meet you, Zunying. Tell me, what is your favorite food?”

Zunying gulped. “Um… fire flakes.”

Mai nodded. “Fire flakes are good. My favorite food is fruit tarts. Have you ever had any?”

Zunying nodded. 

“Maybe I can see if we can get you some fire flakes after dinner. Now, are you ready to head back?”

Zunying looked to Izumi, who simply smiled at her. She turned back to Mai. 

“Um… okay.”

Mai took her daughter’s hand in one hand, Zunying’s in the other, and led them back to the table. 

Zunying wanted to shrink back again as she entered the dining room, but none of the Royal Family paid her much close attention. 

Zunying began to eat her noodles quietly, not paying attention to the gentle chatter around her. She just focused on her food. 

Until Mai asked Zunying a question. “Zunying, I’m curious, have you seen the turtleduck pond in the gardens?”

Zunying looked over at Mai. “Y-yes. Izumi showed me.”

“Did she tell you the turtleducks’ names?”

Zunying nodded.

Mai grinned. “Did she mention that my husband was the one who named most of them?”

Zunying’s mouth dropped open. Before she could even think, she blurted out, “THE FIRE LORD NAMED SQUEAKS AND FLUFFHEAD?” Remembering herself, she clasped her hands over her mouth.

She couldn’t help it. Turtleducks were just too cute! 

Zuko laughed. “Yes, I did. Though Izumi named Little Moonpeach. Do you like turtleducks?”

The conversation stretched on, and Zunying learned that not only did the Fire Lord love turtleducks, he was also passionate about the theater. His half-sister Kiyi was studying to be a playwright, and was planning to study abroad at Ba Sing Se University after she graduated from the Royal Fire University in the Capital City. Zuko’s mother and stepfather were both actors. Fire Lady Mai had an insatiable sweet tooth. Princess Azula was addicted to Pai Sho (though she heartily denied it). 

The evening stretched on, with the royal family becoming less and less royal, and more like a normal family in Zunying’s eyes. She couldn’t believe the supreme ruler of her country liked to pet turtleducks in his free time. 

After dinner, it was time for Zunying to go home. The Fire Lady gave her a bag of fire flakes, and Izumi waited with Zunying for the carriage to arrive and take her home. 

“Your family is so… nice…” said Zunying.

Izumi smiled. “Yeah. We’re just a bunch of royal dorks. You really don’t have anything to be scared of.”

“I can’t believe the Fire Lord knows my name…”

Izumi looked at Zunying with confusion. “Um, yeah? Of course he does? Why wouldn’t he?”

“He’s the _Fire Lord_!” said Zunying.

“He’s my dad!” said Izumi. “Why wouldn’t I tell him about my best friend? He was super excited to meet you someday.”

“He was?”

“Yeah! He asks how you’re doing almost every day! I think he’s just happy that I have a friend.”

Zunying looked with wonder at Izumi. The Fire Lord asked about her? She could hardly believe it.

But then again, this Fire Lord liked to pet turtleducks. And the Fire Lady calmed her down when she was crying. And they seemed so nice, and normal. 

Maybe Zunying didn’t have to be so scared, if they were like that. If multiple people could get away with calling the Fire Lord a dork to his face, then maybe she could relax around them.

Zunying smiled. She liked that thought.

**Author's Note:**

> A very self-indulgent fic with my nervous OC baby Zunying! I wanted to give Izumi a friend to play with and lean on, and you can see Zunying show up in some of my other stories!
> 
> Zunying's name is written as 尊英 in Chinese characters, and pronounced as Zūnyīng in Mandarin. The two characters mean "honor" and "brave" respectively (ironic, since Zunying is so timid!).
> 
> I like to think that Mai would be a very tender and caring mother to Izumi, and that she naturally would want to take care of Izumi's friends, too. In the comics she's very sweet to Tom-Tom. She's come a long way since her days in the war. :)
> 
> The "Kyoshi-Caldera Friendship Exchange" is an idea I had after seeing that Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors become Zuko's bodyguards in the comics. My idea is that, in thanks for their services, and to promote cross-cultural friendship, there is an exchange program between the Fire Nation Capital and Kyoshi Island established some time after the war. Little Fire Nation girls can go train with the Kyoshi Warriors, and little Kyoshi Island boys can visit the Fire Nation and learn about engineering (since they seem so industrially advanced). I want to write that story, but I have a ways to go. I wanted to reference it here, though. :)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this! Please let me know what you think! Comments are appreciated! :)


End file.
